To the Editor: The decision by Wilkinson and colleagues at the University of Queensland to abandon interview selection methodology represents a regressive step in medical student selection.1 In particular, the problems with accepting past academic performance as an infallible “gold standard” criterion for student selection become evident when considering the less tangible but no less important issues of social equity, “fitness-to-task”, community expectations and corporate responsibility.
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- School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
Correspondence: d.harding@uws.edu.au
- 1. Wilkinson D, Zhang J, Byrne GJ, et al. Medical school selection criteria and the prediction of academic performance. Evidence leading to change in policy and practice at the University of Queensland. Med J Aust 2008; 188: 349-354. <MJA full text>
- 2. Powis D, Hamilton J, McManus IC. Widening access by changing the criteria for selecting medical students. Teach Teach Educ 2007; 23: 1235-1245.
- 3. Reiter HI, Eva KW, Rosenfeld J, Norman GR. Multiple mini-interviews predict clerkship and licensing examination performance. Med Educ 2007; 41: 378-384.
- 4. Roberts C, Walton M, Rothnie I, et al. Factors affecting the utility of the multiple mini-interview in selecting candidates for graduate-entry medical school. Med Educ 2008; 42: 396-404.
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